Feadship Yachts’ History

Feadship Yachts, widely recognized as one of the world’s leading producers of custom-built superyachts, was officially launched in 1949. It roots extend far into the past, though, all the way back to 1849 when the Van Lents, one of Feadship’s founding families, began building and repairing boats in a small shipyard situated on Kaag Island in the Netherlands. Defined by exceptional craftsmanship and an unrelenting commitment to excellence, Feadship Yachts sets the standard in every aspect of design, engineering and construction. Over the past sixty-five years of Feadship Yachts’ history, the company has launched more than 250 custom superyachts, many of which are still on the water today serving as a testament to Feadship’s unrivaled build quality.
After World War II, the market for pleasure yachts in Europe was almost non-existent. Several enterprising Dutch yacht builders came together in 1949, joining with De Voogt Naval Architects to form an export association for the express purpose of marketing to American clients. The association, named Feadship (an acronym for First Export Association of Dutch Shipbuilders), officially launched in 1951 at the New York Boat Show. A flurry of orders swiftly followed, and by the mid-1950’s Feadship was building a steady stream of steel and aluminum yachts.
During the 1960’s, Feadship Yachts’ reputation for excellence steadily grew, as did the size of the vessels the company was producing. By the early 1970’s Feadship was launching several yachts a year and had firmly established itself as one of the top custom-built yacht companies. A series of prominent clients and famous Feadship fans, including Henry Ford and Malcolm Forbes, served to burnish Feadship’s reputation and increase the company’s global presence.
Feadship encompasses several yards and one naval design firm, bearing the leading names in Dutch shipbuilding. Van Lent shipyard, which began building ships in 1849, is now solely dedicated to building the finest custom-built motoryachts. Family-run Koninklijke De Vries Scheepsbouw, founded in 1906, is an integrated group of companies that employs some 800 craftsmen in steel and aluminum construction, engineering, and the various outfitting and finishing disciplines.
DeVoogt Naval Architects, famous for its revolutionary concept designs, is home to a specialist team expert in every discipline of yacht engineering and design. Rounding out the Dutch shipbuilding family is De Vries Makkum yard, which joined Feadship in August 2005 with a highly skilled, 250-man strong team that oversees refits and Feadship maintenance. Feadship Yachts produces an average of five major craft a year, reigning as one of the world’s finest producers of exceptional custom-built craft, continually positioned at the forefront of innovations in both technology and design.
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